The number of calls to Wisconsin’s handgun hotline set a record in February, with nearly 16,000 calls. So far this year, the hotline has handled more than 53,000 calls. That’s on pace to far eclipse 2011, when the hotline handled just shy of 90,000 calls for the full year.

Nationally, calls for firearms purchases using the FBI’s instant criminal background check system totaled nearly 1.2 million in March, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a firearms industry trade group. The number is up 20% over a year ago and marks the 22nd straight month-over-month increase, NSSF said.

“The wholesalers are having a hard time getting guns from any of the manufacturers on a nice even flow,” said Brian Rafn, portfolio manager at Morgan Dempsey Capital Management, which has offices in Milwaukee and Delafield. “The backlogs go for months on end.”